The Science of CSI: Crime in the Laboratory

Science Reactors return to Atraktos with their other beloved activity: Science on stage. How can knowledge become theatre and be combined with art and humour?

In their refreshed performance CSI Science: Crime in the Lab, an eccentric police duo (the nervous police inspector and his “naive” assistant) try to solve the mystery and find the murderer. In their efforts they call on the help of many sciences… from biology, criminology and computer science to nanotechnology. And the show begins!!!

Although they are all amateur actors, they have nothing to envy from their professional counterparts. You will certainly enjoy them.

Before the performance, two gifted researchers from the Pasteur Institute will present the original CSI Workshop on the fingerprints of a crime.

Below is the link to the event’s expression of interest form to be completed by anyone interested:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsdWg8DzaThKj9V91XCaSi8GUwwPZopyko93xskTx34VkUyg/viewform

Science on stage – Science... differently!

How is a DNA test done?

What are impressions and what do they have to do with fingerprints?

Why is a UV lamp always useful at a crime scene?

How does technology help in detecting a crime and what does a 3D… scanner have to do with it?

These are just some of the questions the scientists are called to answer in the performance. A researcher is found dead under strange circumstances... was it murder or a lab accident?

“Crime in the Lab” is a performance that, following the usual practice of Science Reactors, invites us to see science... differently! To discover it in our everyday lives, to combine it with art and to accompany it with original music. All of this delivered with humour by young scientists who make up the team.

“All participants are scientists, that is the basic condition for anyone taking part. And this usually surprises the audience; everyone assumes they will see an amateur performance, since the participants are amateur actors and professional scientists. But it is an extremely carefully crafted, professional piece of work, with music written especially for the occasion, a distinctive visual intervention and a professional director, Kostas Vrettos,” says Ms Eleni Grammatikopoulou, the team’s coordinator.

Crime in the Lab has been presented at major scientific events and festivals – as well as in performances at the Foundation of the Hellenic World. “The play has changed quite a bit since it was first presented. There are new roles, and, as the team’s roster has been renewed and there are quite a few who love experiments, experiments have been added on stage, but also off stage, that help solve the crime,” says Anna Christodoulou, who wrote the script.

Science and the important role of research behind our favourite police TV series are revealed and invite us to an evening of humour and mystery. “Crime in the Lab” and... the show begins!

Performance duration: 60’